Immunity
by Fivercon
Summary: Four years ago, Botan left on yet another delivery to the Human World. Little did she know that on that wintry evening, she would find advice, comfort, a delicious cup of hot chocolate and love in a lifelong friend. KB [Prequel to An Issue of Punctuality]


A/N: Hop on the train! Destination: KB goodness! 

Disclaimer: Kurama and Botan are owned by Yoshihiro Togashi. Lucky genius!

* * *

_Does anybody remember Kurama and Botan's first date? No? Well, untypical and completely unexpected as it was though, that fateful day actually led to a proposal four years later._

**Immunity**

"'Life was so boring that when I realized I had headed toward the bright light at the end of the tunnel, I thanked God that I had died.'"

"Wow. She said that?"

"She sure did, Botan. I mean, that girl went on a rant for a _whole_ hour! Sixty minutes during which I was demoted from a ferry girl to a shrink. Hey! Don't laugh!"

Despite her friend's irritability, Botan burst out in a fit of those infamous giggles that befitted her effervescent nature. After her spontaneous outburst however, Botan quickly stifled her laughter to humor her scowling friend.

"Sorry, I just find the new girl rather…dramatic," Botan shrugged while her friend tsked at her nonchalant attitude. "You know something, I actually think her depressing outlook is rather refreshing."

"Come again?"

Botan sipped her tea thoughtfully before answering. "Well, it's been awhile since we've had a new ferry girl and by that I mean hundreds of years. You and Ayame have always acted professionally about this job and I've always been upbeat about it. Everyone around here is so acquainted with death that it's rather dull. Koenma-sama doesn't need to read another mind-numbing report for us to know that business in the afterlife can be pretty boring. It's nice to hear someone actually say something negative for once…What?"

"Now that's something new."

"What's new?"

"Since when have _you_ been all bored? You _are_ Botan, right? Miss Bubbly, Happy Go Lucky, 'death is an exciting adventure' girl?" Botan's pink irises widened with puzzlement; clearly she and her friend had a huge misunderstanding.

Or did they?

"Well, it has been a while since Ningenkai had been at peace. Team Urameshi is enjoying a well-deserved vacation since the readings have indicated that the demonic activity had lessened considerably," Botan twirled a strand of her blue hair around her finger. "Maybe I _am_ justified in being bored. When you compare shuttling souls day in and day out to facing blood sucking, sharp clawed, multi-colored demons, I find the former to be much more mundane."

"Are you nuts?! Why would anyone want to face demons and play in a game of life and death?"

"Oh come on. It's not like the thought of them ripping everyone to shreds _doesn't_ scare me. I guess I was just used to all of the roller coaster adventures and now that everything has settled down…I'm still recovering from the shock."

"Whatever. I know I for one don't _ever_ want to come face to face with those abominations. Heh, I guess you just have this immunity against dangerous demons."

Botan laughed as she poured her friend some more tea. "Yeah, maybe I do."

Our favorite blue haired, deity was, after all, just the girl who would run in between a demon and its victim, attend bloody death tournaments to cheer loudly for the hated underdogs and travel to a completely perilous world where demons reigned.

It was just what Botan did.

"Paging, Botan! Paging Botan! Please report to Koenma-sama's office right away! This is an urgent call!"

Botan immediately stood up and brushed off her pink kimono. She smiled at her friend. "Ooh. Maybe things are about to get interesting around here."

Nodding in agreement, her friend raised a cup of tea for a slight send-off. "We can only hope."

* * *

So it seemed that her friend's hope had all been in vain.

As Botan stood in Koenma's office, the Reikai prince (presently in toddler form) filled her in on her next task.

She had to deliver important Reikai documents to a representative of Ningenkai who was to participate in a meeting. To make things more interesting, this little rendezvous had to occur tonight and if Botan did not deliver the documents, the meeting would be completely ruined. It would be All. Her. Fault.

"Yes, sir."

Apparently it was decided between the current ruler of Makai and Koenma that formal scheduled meetings were to occur once a month to discuss the updates between borders of how many humans had wandered blindly into the Makai and how it should be addressed.

In other words: more tedious work.

"So make sure you find the representative! And here!" Koenma pointed to a pile of folders. "That's for him. Now get moving, Botan! The meeting is in fifteen minutes and it's not good to keep a demon waiting!"

His last comment jerked Botan out of her stupor. "I-in fifteen minutes?!"

Koenma pouted angrily at the girl's delay. "And now you have _fourteen_ minutes!"

Botan shook her head disbelievingly. "Well, at least give me half an hour! I can't go that fast!"

With his trademark pacifier clenched in between his lips, Koenma managed to say three words through gritted teeth. "Get. Moving. NOW!"

Botan flew like she'd never flown before. The pressure of the air whipped against her face heavily causing her to squint in order to see the vague yellow sky blend distortedly with the nearby clouds. Even though the amount of time was pressing, Botan wasn't the fastest ferry girl out there for nothing. Sure she'd sped through the skies on her famous oar many a time throughout her career but today, she just put the pedal to the metal…uh, figuratively of course.

It wasn't as though she couldn't handle it.

While battling the wind pressure and managing to steer simultaneously, Botan opened the first file that Koenma had given her. A picture of the representative was clipped onto the many documents. Surprised but nonetheless amused, Botan smiled to see a familiar green-eyed, redheaded demon return the grin in the photo.

* * *

Winter seemed to be especially cold this year. No it didn't just seem cold. It was freaking freezing.

If one would survey the crowds on the streets of the first week in January, one would see people hunched over in the cold trying to brace themselves against the harsh weather. Many would have a hot drink in their gloved hands while others would have their vulnerable necks protected by a scarf that was accompanied by a sniffling red nose.

Only a keen eye would pick out a certain peculiar figure amongst the people braving the blustery streets. And no, this keen eye would have to look past this young man's devastatingly good looks that was noticeable a mile away, and move on to the more discreet signs. He weathered the gusts of wind with ease and walked casually and calmly as though the sun was shining brightly overhead in a beautiful blue sky.

Indeed, Kurama walked nonchalantly toward the docks not minding the merciless night wind that whipped his scarlet tresses every which way.

Kurama, possessing the infamous Youko's demonic powers, was hardly affected by any winter unpleasantness as he continued walking. Upon reaching his destination, Kurama checked his watch and stood near the edge of the dock as he was asked to do. He scanned the dark skies in hopes of spying a certain blue-haired ferry girl clad in pink. Sure enough, in about two minutes, Kurama's trained eyes spotted a figure dart out of the clouds.

"Right on time."

Botan had contacted Kurama on the communicator and asked him to meet her somewhere inconspicuous so as to waste less time. Deciding upon the dock, the two had agreed to meet there at 11:55pm; a mere five minutes before Kurama's oh-so important meeting had to take place. As Botan neared, Kurama could make out her flushed complexion and breathless state. He suppressed a chuckle when she skidded rather roughly to a halt before him.

"T-thanks for meeting me here, Kurama!"

"No problem, Botan. It's actually rather convenient since my meeting place is near here."

"I…am…so…tired! Koenma-sama conveniently forgot to tell me about this little meeting until about ten minutes ago! Whew, fastest I've ever had to go!"

"But you made it in a record time," Kurama assured her as she gathered the papers. "Five minutes to spare."

Botan beamed with relief as she jumped off her oar with the files in hand.

"Alright then, here you go…Hey, do you hear somethi…" Botan trailed off and looked at Kurama. They both slowly lowered their gaze onto the wooden boards of the dock too see a big crack run through their feet. The sound of splitting wood was audible for a brief second before the dock began to splinter apart.

Kurama quickly grabbed hold of Botan's waist to prevent her from falling but unfortunately, the dock was too far from land's reach even for him. After teeter totting on a shaky board for several seconds, they both went tumbling into the water.

It seemed as though a wave of electric shock hit Botan as the icy water engulfed her. She shut her eyes immediately and gasped for air but only to find water rushing into her mouth. Blindly struggling and cursing the fact that she didn't know how to swim, she desperately clawed for something, anything for support.

Suddenly, her arm had locked around something solid. Perhaps it was a piece of wood from the dock! Pulling it closer to her and holding on for dear life, she found that it was floating up. Botan opened one eye and saw the bright surface getting closer and closer until suddenly, she felt herself break through the water and air rushed into her lungs. Coughing and gasping for the precious oxygen that was now abundant, Botan suddenly remembered about her fox demon friend.

"K-Kurama?! Damnit, where's Kurama?!"

"Are you okay?"

Hearing his voice, Botan shook her head and used her free arm to sweep the wet bangs from her eyes. A vision of an all too well-known deep scarlet color greeted her eyes. "Botan, could you hold onto my shoulders instead? You're slightly choking me."

"Oh!" Botan blushed deeply as she realized that she'd locked her arm around his neck and had nearly strangled her rescuer. She managed to mumble an 'I'm sorry' and held onto his arm instead as Kurama swam expertly through the debris of the dock to the area where it wasn't damaged. He helped Botan up first and then hoisted himself easily out of the water.

"I can't believe this!" Botan cried as she sat on the dock feeling extremely weighed down by her drenched kimono.

Kurama sighed in agreement and began to wring the excess water off his shirt. "Achoo!" Maybe now the cold was getting to him…or at least his human side. Peachy. Suddenly he heard Botan let out a gasp. "What's wrong?"

"I lost the files!" Botan cried as she glanced around frantically for the documents. "Where are they?! Oh, Koenma is going to throw a fit if I don't find them!" Pushing aside the debris by her, she suddenly had a sinking feeling as she eyed the dark water.

Botan struggled to her feet and glanced over the edge of the ruined dock. Her brows furrowed at the thought of going back into the freezing water again.

But she was a _competent_ employee of Reikai! She couldn't, _wouldn't_ fail now!

Before she could take one teeny, tiny step however, she felt a hand lock onto her wrist gently but firmly and began pulling her away.

"Oh no you don't." Kurama chided her teasingly.

"B-but I-"

"-don't have to risk yourself being seriously hurt for soggy, ruined documents. Right?" Kurama turned around and smiled when he saw her little pout.

Damn, he was right. As usual.

Botan hung her head in disappointment.

"Good, now let's get ourselves dried off."

* * *

Ten minutes later, Botan found herself sitting on a bed in Kurama's room with a towel around her shoulders. Here was one place that she thought she'd never be in.

"Kurama, are you moving?" She indicated the pile of cardboard boxes in the corner.

He nodded and gave her a steaming mug full of hot chocolate. "Yes, I'm moving into an apartment next week. It's closer to the college I'll be attending in two months."

"Wow, college! You must be so excited!" Botan blurted out before thinking that he was anything _but _thrilled to be going off to another school. Seriously, after going through everything he went through with saving mankind and what not, going to college didn't seem too exhilarating. "I mean…"

Kurama chuckled and sipped his tea. "No, I am a little excited, Botan. I get a fresh start in school, get my own place and start looking to my future as Shuichi Minamino: the botanist."

Botan laughed as she imagined Kurama sporting glasses and a white lab coat while bending over an assortment of plants in a greenhouse. She'd never really had a casual talk with the fox demon before so she found it pleasantly comfortable to be able to hold a conversation with him minus the demon related topics. It was surprisingly nice.

"Okay then, congratulations, Kurama. I'm sure Shuichi's time has been long overdue. Here's to your future!" She held up her mug.

"And yours."

They clinked their mugs together to celebrate Kurama's new endeavors in college and Botan's…

"You know, I feel a little lonely drinking to our toast by myself."

"Huh? Oh!" Botan looked down at the mug still in her hands. She had forgotten to drink after she'd realize the dismal truth. "Sorry!"

Kurama looked on skeptically as she smiled and drank. The fox wasn't perceptive for nothing. "Is everything all right? Did I put too many marshmallows in your hot chocolate?"

"No, no! It's delicious! I-I just forgot! You know me! I'm such a birdbrain so I always forget to do things, even simple ones like…" Her excuses trailed off as she saw Kurama's serious expression. He didn't say any words; he simply sat there, patiently waiting for her to say anything she wanted.

Botan let out a big sigh and looked at the distorted image of her face in the hot chocolate. "Okay, you got me. I was just thinking about my future and how it's kind of at a dead end."

"Mm."

"I mean, I know I'm not 'alive' and that being a ferry girl is my job…my _purpose_, but if there was just something to look forward to…I think I'd be a little happier." She suddenly slapped a hand to her forehead and sank back against the wall embarrassed. "Ugh, how is that after four long centuries, I have only _now_ thought about what was in store for me for the future?!"

"You know Botan, you _are_ alive."

Her eyes widened as she looked up at him.

Kurama set his mug down onto his desk. "Living a long time _does_ make you think about depressing thoughts, doesn't it? Well, there is only one thing I can say to you and that is to always expect something to happen."

Botan was lost. What was Kurama talking about? Was he speaking in complicated riddles to her or was she just too clueless to see the answer right under her nose?

His green eyes crinkled in amusement as he looked over at the perplexed ferry girl. She really did indeed look lost. Maybe a little autobiographical example would help.

"Botan, I constantly thought about what you did for some time when I was back in Makai. It was disturbing to think that I was just to spend thousands of years stealing treasures without anything new. Being a thief can get pretty boring; especially if you're never caught."

Her laughter made him smile in relief. "Don't be so modest, Kurama."

"Well, as you know, I _was_ caught and…look at me now. The once infamous, nine-tailed fox, Youko Kurama, is off to college after helping a Mazoku save the world- several times."

Ah, the answer _had_ been right under her nose. So the fox was good at counseling too. Was there anything the boy _wasn't_ good at?

"Thanks, Kurama. You always know what to say don't you?"

Mr. Therapist grinned politely. "I try."

"Well, I'd better head back and face the wrath of Koenma-sama. Maybe if I get him a strawberry mochi, he'll go easier on me."

"Don't worry about it, Botan. I rescheduled the meeting already so Koenma won't be too upset."

She brightened up immediately. "Really? You did? How? Was the Makai's representative all right with that?"

Kurama nodded. "He was. We're good friends so he let me off the hook."

…

Hiei crossly made his way back home after Kurama had telepathically canceled their meeting. The nerve of that fox. He'd meet his own one day and when that day came, Hiei would relish the satisfaction with great big, smile on his face.

…

"Oh, thanks goodness!" Botan sighed in relief. "You sure save the day quite a bit, you know that?"

"Well, I tr-ACHOO!" Botan jumped at Kurama's sneeze.

Kurama. Sneezing. It was just too…cute? Yeah, incredibly _adorable_ in fact. Not that Botan was going to make any indication that she thought he looked positively precious with his face all scrunched up in a sneeze. No siree.

"Are you all right?" She walked over to Kurama and placed a hand on his forehead. "Uh-oh, looks like someone's got a fever."

Little did Botan know that her hand only served to increase his already rising temperature. "I'll be fine. Don't worry, a fever has never beaten me yet."

Despite his brave words, a sniffle followed his declaration causing Botan to place a hand on her hip in a motherly fashion. "Well, I'm not going to take any chances so lay down."

"It's noth-"

"Lay. Down. Kurama." She pointed her finger to his bed and the fox complied.

"A-ACHOO!!"

"Yeah, 'it's nothing doesn't really seem to describe it, Kurama. I think I'll stay here for a little bit." She pulled up the chair he'd been using and sat down near his side.

"This really isn't necessary, Botan." Kurama insisted as attempted to sit up but found that his head suddenly felt very heavy. Just perfect. Kurama, demon extraordinaire, caught a cold and a bad one too, it seemed like. Man, if anyone ever saw him like this…

A cooling sensation graced his burning forehead and he opened his eyes to see Botan readjusting a wet towel around his hair. He smiled in gratitude.

"Ah, I see what you're talking about now. You didn't expect to get sick, did you?"

"You got me."

"So I'm staying here to watch over you," Botan stated resolutely. "Now, get some sleep."

Kurama grinned in defeat and closed his eyes.

Letting out a sigh, Botan thanked her lucky stars that Kurama didn't see the ferocious blush that lit up her cheeks when he grinned. Since when did he have this effect on her?! Well, to be fair, any girl would have swooned if they had received Kurama's boyish yet charmingly impish grin.

Maybe it was because he was so at peace that she was able to see a different side of him, a side that was gentle, kind and caring. She could tell that his future in Ningenkai was really going to make him happy and content with finding his goal in this life and pursuing it with everything he's got.

Kurama really _did_ give up on being Youko, didn't he?

Botan looked at his face and smiled. She was truly, _honestly _glad for him. Noticing his steady breathing, Botan gathered her courage and leaned forward to place a feather light kiss on his cheek.

"Thank you for giving me hope," She gently wiped away a few strands of his hair that stuck to his face. "Oh! And for saving me, of course. You're my hero." Botan pulled a blanket over his shoulders then stood up and went to get another wet towel.

After she left the room, her patient cracked open an amused green eye. "You're welcome, Botan." After deciding that he would invite her to have brunch with him at a particularly wonderful café tomorrow, he promptly fell back to a restful slumber knowing that she would be by his side all night.

So it turned out that Kurama wasn't immune to colds and Botan…well, she wasn't immune to dangerous demons after all.


End file.
